The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers 5-3 on Wednesday, marking the team's 21st straight win. The Indians now hold the American League record for most consecutive wins, beating the 2002 Oakland A's 20-game streak.

Think of the Indians streak this way: There have been 1,235 team seasons in AL history. Cleveland is the first one to win 21 straight

Still, there is some debate over exactly how historic an accomplishment this is for the Indians. The 1935 Chicago Cubs also had a 21-game streak. Then there are the 1916 New York Giants, who had a 26-game streak in which a rainstorm caused an ultra-rare tie game that separated their 12th win from their next 14.

"A tie was never an acceptable result of a baseball game," Steve Hirdt, the executive vice president of the Elias Sports Bureau — Major League Baseball's official record keeper — told ABC News. "If one happened because of darkness or rain or some certain circumstance, the game was played over."

He added: "The Giants' 26-game winning streak has existed since the beginning of time. I do not know why certain people are looking at the 21 now and holding that up as the record or alternately trying to parse language so that they can somehow exclude the 26."

Only the 2017 Indians, 2002 Athletics, 1935 Cubs, and 1916 Giants have had streaks of at least 20 games in the modern era of baseball. Jeva Lange